Phlox plant named ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’

ABSTRACT

A unique cultivar of Hybrid Creeping  Phlox  named ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’ characterized by vigorous, dense, spreading, multi-stemmed, winter-hardy habit with short, bright glossy-green, linear leaves. Flowering begins in mid-April and continuing for up to five weeks, in cooler weather conditions, on heavily-branched peduncles and completely cover the plant in peak season. Petals of newly opened flowers are violet-blue with dark pink eye marks and with a small notch and the tips of the petals, and just before dropping petal centers lighten to white and marks in eye fade away. The new plant is able to withstand dry conditions once established, and the foliage stays clean and resists mildew. The new plant is especially suitable for the landscape as a potted plant and in the garden as a specimen or en masse.

Botanical classification: Phlox hybrid.

Variety denomination: ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(B)(6)

The first non-enabling disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of aphotograph and brief description on a website operated by WaltersGardens, Inc. on Feb. 1, 2019. Subsequently, the new plant wasadvertised in the “Walters Gardens 19-20 Catalog” by Walters Gardens,Inc. released on May 29, 2019. The claimed plant was first sold on Jul.8, 2019 by Walters Gardens, Inc., who obtained the plant and allinformation relating thereto, from the inventor. No plants of Phlox‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’ have been sold in this country or anywhere inthe world, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made, more thanone year prior to the filing date of this application, and such sale ordisclosure within one year was either derived directly or indirectlyfrom the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of HybridCreeping Phlox plant known as Phlox ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’ and will bereferred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’, orthe “new plant”. The new plant was hybridized by the inventor at awholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. on May 1, 2015 as a crossbetween Phlox subulata ‘Purple Beauty’ (not patented) as the female orseed parent and Phlox kelseyi ‘Lemhi Purple’ (not patented) as the maleor pollen parent. The new plant passed initial evaluation on the springof 2017 and was assigned the breeder code 15-42-2 through the remainingevaluation process. ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’ was first asexuallypropagated by stem cuttings in the greenhouses at the same nursery inZeeland, Mich. in the summer of 2017. The unique characteristics of thenew plant have been found to be reproducible and stable in successivegenerations of asexually propagated and the resultant plants have beenfound to be identical to the original selection.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PLANT

Phlox ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’ is unique from all other Hybrid SpringPhlox known to the inventor. The nearest comparison plants known to theinventor include: the female and male parents, ‘Rocky Road Grape’ U.S.Plant patent application Ser. No. 16/873,085, ‘Rocky Road Magenta’ U.S.Plant patent application Ser. No. 16/350,916, ‘Violet Pinwheels’ U.S.Plant Pat. No. 25,884, ‘Rocky Road Periwinkle’ U.S. Plant patentapplication Ser. No. 16/873,084 and ‘Plumtastic’ U.S. Plant Pat. No.28,896. ‘Purple Beauty’ has a larger more spreading habit and theflowers are purple with a dark violet-purple eye and moderately notchedapices. ‘Lemhi Purple’ has a slightly taller habit with deeperpurple-violet flowers without darker purple marks near center eye andwithout notches at the petal apices. ‘Rocky Road Grape’ has flowers thatreddish purple with a small dark purple eye and more deeply notchedpetal apices. ‘Rocky Road Magenta’ has vibrant magenta-purple flowerswith small dark-purple eye marking and without a notched petal apex.‘Violet Pinwheels’ has shorter height with violet-blue flower color withmore cupped corolla and more deeply cleft petal apices. ‘Rocky RoadPeriwinkle’ has periwinkle-blue flowers. ‘Plumtastic’ has flowers ofviolet-pink with purple markings near the eye, and the flower initiallyhas a light, near-white center that darkens to the same violet-pink atmaturity.

Phlox ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’ differs from and all other Phlox known tothe inventor in the following repeatedly observed traits in combination:

-   -   1. Vigorous plants of dense spreading habit, spreading by        rooting stems, producing short, clean, puberulent, bright-green,        linear leaves;    -   2. Multiple heavily-branched stems produce branched panicles;    -   3. Flower beginning in mid-April and continuing for up to five        weeks, in cool conditions, completely covering plant at peak        flowering;    -   4. Flowers of violet-blue with dark pink eye and with small        notches at the tip of the petals;    -   5. Plant is able to withstand dry conditions once established.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the unique traits of Phlox‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’ and the overall appearance of the plant atthree-years-old growing in a full-sun trial beds in Zeeland, Mich. Thecolors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions.Variation in ambient light spectrum, source and direction may cause theappearance of minor variation in color.

FIG. 1 shows a landscape habit view of the new plant in peak flower.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the flowers and buds.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except wherecommon dictionary terms are used. Phlox ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’ has notbeen observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may varyslightly with different growing environments such as temperature, light,fertility, soil pH, moisture and maturity levels, but without any changein the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions arebased on three-year-old plants in the full-sun trial garden of awholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. with supplementalfertilizer and water as needed.

-   Botanical classification: Phlox hybrid;-   Parentage: Female or seed parent is Phlox subulata ‘Purple Beauty’,    male or pollen parent is Phlox kelseyi ‘Lemhi Purple’;-   Plant habit: Winter-hardy, evergreen herbaceous perennial; short,    dense, producing about 40 to 65 stiff, highly-branched prostrate    stems; foliage 7.0 cm tall and 43.5 cm wide, average 6.0 cm tall and    41.0 cm wide; flowering to 9.0 cm tall and 45.0 cm wide;-   Propagation: Stem cuttings; rooting in about 3 weeks;-   Time to produce finished crop in 3.8 liter pots: About 8 to 12    weeks; moderately vigorous;-   Root: Fibrous and freely branching; color creamy white to tan    depending on soil type;-   Leaves: Simple; opposite proximally, whorled distally; linear to    subulate; apex narrowly acute to mucronulate; base truncate,    clasping; margin entire; glabrous both adaxial and abaxial; about    19.0 mm long by about 4.5 mm wide, average about 16.5 mm long and    3.5 mm wide;-   Leaf color: Adaxial expanding and mature nearest RHS 137A, abaxial    both expanding and mature between RHS 138A and RHS 138B;-   Foliage fragrance: None detected;-   Veins: Pinnate; not conspicuous adaxial and abaxial;-   Vein color: Same color as surround leaf;-   Petiole: Leaves sessile;-   Stems: Cylindrical; flexible; wiry; prostrate; highly branching; to    about 5.0 mm long and 1.0 mm diameter near base;-   Stem color: Color nearest RHS 145A when exposed;-   Nodes: Proximally about 5.0 mm apart; distally less than 1.0 mm    apart;-   Node color: Color nearest RHS 145C;-   Inflorescence: Upright to outwardly; about 2.5 cm long and 3.0 cm    wide; average of 3 flowers;-   Flowers: Perfect; salverform; mostly flat faced; about 19.0 mm    across face and 13.0 mm long; with fused corolla tube about 12.0 mm    long and 2.0 mm diameter near face; attitude upright to outwardly;-   Flower longevity: About 5 days on plant; self-cleaning;-   Flower fragrance: Not detected;-   Buds one to two days prior to opening: Narrowly oblanceolate, to    narrowly clavate; bluntly acute apex with rounded base; petals    implicate; about 17.0 mm long, 5.5 mm long in terminal bulb portion    and 9.5 mm long in tube; corolla tube to 2.0 mm diameter, bulb to    5.5 mm diameter;-   Bud color: Exposed petal bulb portion nearest RHS 92B; between tube    and bulb nearest RHS 103A, corolla tube basal 2.0 mm nearest RHS    145C and distal tube nearest RHS 85D; calyx nearest RHS 137B with    strong blush in high light exposure of nearest RHS N187A;-   Petals: Five; consisting of limb and basal claw fused into corolla    tube; apex rounded and sharply and shallowly cleft to about 0.5 mm    deep; limbs not imbricate; margin entire; glabrous adaxial and    abaxial;-   Petal size: Limb about 9.0 mm long and 8.0 mm wide near middle; tube    about 12.0 mm long and 2.0 mm diameter;-   Petal color upon opening:    -   -   Adaxial.—Limb nearest RHS N87B with splashed ring near eye            about 1.0 mm long and wide nearest RHS 93A and central eye            about 1.0 mm wide nearest RHS NN155C; proximal 4.0 mm of            tube nearest RHS 145C, remaining distal tube portion nearest            RHS 91A.        -   Abaxial.—Limb nearest RHS 90D, proximal 1.0 mm of tube            nearest RHS 145A, next proximal 2.0 mm nearest RHS 150D,            remaining distal tube portion between RHS 91B and RHS 91C.-   Petal color upon maturity:    -   -   Adaxial.—Adaxial: limb nearest RHS N81B near center and            nearest RHS N87C in the perimeter one-half, with splashed            ring faded to match center eye nearest RHS NN155C; proximal            4.0 mm of tube nearest RHS 145C, remaining distal tube            portion nearest RHS 91A.        -   Abaxial.—Limb nearest RHS 90D, proximal 1.0 mm of tube            nearest RHS 145A, next proximal 2.0 mm nearest RHS 150D,            remaining distal tube portion between RHS 91B and RHS 91C.        -   Androecium.—Typically five.-   Filaments: Typically five, adnate to inner corolla to various    heights about 7.0 mm to 11.0 mm from base; free in the distal 1.0 mm    to 2.0 mm long and 0.2 mm in diameter; color nearest RHS NN155D;-   Anther: Five; oblong elliptic; basifixed; oblong, about 2.5 mm long    by 1.0 mm wide; color nearest RHS 17C;-   Pollen: Nearly microscopic; color nearest RHS 23A;-   Gynoecium: One pistil per flower; 12.0 mm long;-   Style: Cylindrical; about 9.0 mm long and 0.3 mm diameter when    flower is mature; persistent after flower abscission; color nearest    RHS 145D;-   Stigma: Trifid in proximal 1.5 mm long, about 0.3 mm diameter; color    nearest RHS 9B;-   Ovary: Inferior; conical; glabrous; acute apex and truncate base;    about 1.5 mm long and 1.0 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 143A;-   Calyx: Campanulate; pubescent abaxial, glabrous adaxial; about 7.0    mm long and 3.5 mm across at apex;-   Sepals: Five; lanceolate; glabrous adaxial and puberulent abaxial;    narrowly acute apex, fused in basal 4.0 mm; margin entire; matte    abaxial, and lustrous adaxial; individually about 7.0 mm long and    1.0 mm wide at fusion;-   Sepal color: Adaxial nearest RHS 137A in dorsal region; abaxial    nearest RHS 137B with strong blush in high light exposure of nearest    RHS N187A;-   Peduncle: Glabrous; strong, flexible; mostly upright; cylindrical;    to about 1.5 mm diameter at base and 2.5 cm long;-   Peduncle color: Low light or ventrally nearest RHS 146C; high light    or ventrally nearest RHS 146C with weak to moderate blush nearest    RHS 187A;-   Pedicle: Cylindrical; glabrous; flexible; upright to outwardly;    variable lengths from about 7.0 mm to 5.0 mm long and 0.7 mm    diameter;-   Pedicle color: Variable depending on light exposure; with low light    or ventrally nearest RHS 146D; high light or dorsally nearest RHS    146C with strong blush to solid RHS 187A; Fruit and seeds: not    observed;-   Hardiness and culture: The new plant grows best with full sun, light    moisture and deep drainage; hardy to at least from USDA zone 4    through 8.-   Disease and pest resistance: Phlox ‘Rocky Road Soft Violet Blue’    demonstrates excellent powdery mildew resistance under conditions    that would normally show symptoms.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Hybrid Creeping Phlox, Phloxplant named ‘Rocky Road Violet Blue’, as herein described andillustrated.